Victoria Beckham’s bottom

Assuming that Posh has not had buttock implants (popular in Brazil) to achieve her newly rotund derriere, it seems that her behind may indeed have blossomed thanks to a computer. But according to Colin Allan, personal trainer to Gaby Logan and Kirsty Gallagher, you can plump up and firm your buttocks through “leg-strengthening exercises that engage the gluteal muscles, such as running, cycling and rowing” as well as a programme of resistance work.

This year, a study at the University of Wisconsin, commissioned by the American Council on Exercise (Ace), hailed the quadruped hip extension as the move that targets the buttock muscles better than any other.

Here’s how to do it: get on to your hands and knees and tighten your abdominal muscles slightly to stabilise your spine and torso. Lift one leg, keeping the knee bent at 90 degrees, until the bottom of the foot is parallel with the ceiling and the upper leg in line with the rest of the body.

Posh might wish to assess her new posterior by applying the mathematical equation for a perfect female bottom devised by David Holmes, a psychology lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University: (S+C) x (B+F)/T = V. S is overall droopiness, C represents how spherical the buttocks are, B measures muscular wobble, F is firmness. T measures cellulite and V is the symmetry of the bottom). “The perfect female derriere has firmness to the touch and a resilience that prevents undue wobble or bounce, yet looks soft with flawless skin,” says Holmes.

Kate Winslet’s legs

A woman renowned more for celebrating her curves than embracing Hollywood’s leaning towards the skeletal, Winslet has fallen victim to the airbrush on more than one occasion. Three years ago, the editor of GQ admitted digitally altering her appearance for a cover shoot – she was slimmed down and her legs were lengthened – while more recent technical wizardry saw her super-slim and blemish-free in the publicity shots for the film Romance and Cigarettes. The Titanic star, who once compared her post-pregnancy boobs to “the ears off a dog”, also appeared to have gained a pertness and fullness to her cleavage as well as leaner- looking limbs.

Streamlining the legs in reality takes considerable effort. Aerobic exercise – walking is good, running is better; swimming and cycling are other options – gets rid of surplus fat in the first instance. “Running will also help to strengthen hamstrings, quadriceps, iliopsoas muscles at the front of the hips, calves and the gluteus maximus,” says Louise Sutton, senior lecturer in health and exercise science at Leeds Metropolitan University. “But some resistance and strength work is a must.”

She suggests daily lunges and squats, reported in a study by Ace as the best way to firm the legs without adding bulk. Pilates can also help you to attain a leaner overall appearance.

Keira Knightley’s cleavage

Whereas the British media has been obsessed of late with Keira Knightley’s twig-like frame, the American publicity machines for her latest films simply digitally enhanced her décolletage, with the poster for Arthur the most blatant example. “You’re not actually allowed to be on a magazine cover in the US without at least a C-cup because it turns people off,” the Pirates of the Caribbean star has said.

So can you improve your cleavage without surgery? According to Allan, because breasts comprise fatty tissue, it is impossible to “firm them up”. But “you can give the impression they are pert by strengthening the pectoral muscles which surround the breasts through weights – such as chest presses – and medicine ball throwing – and push-ups”. Rowing and swimming will also tone the upper body.

If you are a celebrity Skinny Minnie, eating sensibly and putting on a few pounds “will almost certainly improve the fullness of your bust”, advises Sutton. Wearing a good sports bra when you exercise is essential, even for women with an A-cup. Supportive bras reduce movement in the breasts by 50% compared with crop tops and regular lingerie. Irreversible sagging is a risk with unsupportive bras – the Coopers ligaments, which support breast tissue, get stretched to their limit during vigorous exercise.

Brad Pitt’s torso

Reports that Pitt quit smoking and engaged in months of tough physical training for his role in Troy a couple of years ago appeared to pay off when publicity shots revealed an impressively muscular physique and a six pack to rival an Olympian’s.

Not according to his co-star Val Kilmer, though, who said at the time: “I saw those pictures of Brad Pitt. That’s all airbrushed in, you know. He’s a nice guy, but he’s a wimp.”

So how could he have got the results without the help of a Photoshop wizard? Pilates instructor Jo Tuffrey says: “It is important to work all the muscles in the abdominal area, which act like a corset to pull your middle section in and stabilise your body.”

She advises Pilates to strengthen the deeply embedded traverses abdominus as well as the obliques, the muscles that help you bend from side to side and to rotate the torso. “Men often get fat deposits in the oblique area, which give them love handles,” she says. A daily routine of side bends and crunches could help. And boys, do not get sucked in by the ads in the Sunday supplements – most of those gadgets that promise a flat stomach within weeks are not worth the money, according to researchers at Kansas State University.

Using electrodes to measure the stimulation to abdominal muscles for different exercises, they found that neither abdominal rollers nor sliders elicited any greater benefit than traditional crunches.

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